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CNN Live Today

Man Threatens to Crash Stolen Plane into Frankfurt Skyscraper

Aired January 06, 2003 - 10:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In Frankfurt, Germany, there were some scary moments just like that there, as well, when a man threatened to crash a stolen plane into a skyscraper there.
Military jets were scrambled to get out there, and people on the ground watched anxiously as this drama unfolded in the air.

Our Frankfurt bureau chief Chris Burns is with us now. He's got more on this story.

Hello, Chris. What's the word?

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

Well, I was one of those people watching, watching yesterday for two hours as that plane was circling over that skyline you can see right over my shoulder. And the latest, the headline from the Bildzeidung (ph) here, showing "Terror Alarm."

Well, it wasn't a terror alarm, obviously. It was a deranged man who was flying that plane. But enough to have all of us watching helplessly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over) An image that brought shivers to many: a plane, its pilot out of control, circling around the skyscrapers of Frankfurt's financial districts.

The pilot, who commandeered the plane at gunpoint, threatens to crash it into the European Central Bank, headquarters of the Euro currency.

The plane, a motorized glider, dives at one point, appearing ready to crash. A few minutes later, it flies between two of the skyscrapers.

Police evacuate the financial district, the central train station and bridges across the Rhine River. Take offs and landings at Frankfurt Airport, one of Europe's busiest, are halted.

Fighter jets are scrambled to try to persuade the pilot to land. This after police in helicopters try but fail, as well.

But as night begins to fall, authorities manage to persuade the man to land at Frankfurt Airport and give up. KLAUS BUSCH, FRANKFURT AIRPORT SPOKESMAN: There is a lot of relief when finally some kind of nightmare, and you don't know in the beginning how it will turn out, finally ends. And ends to the good.

BURNS: The pilot told police he wanted to draw attention to his idol, Judith Resnick, the America astronaut who died in the 1986 explosion on the Space Shuttle Challenger.

While the Frankfurt drama ended peacefully, other similar incidents ended tragically.

Almost a year ago, a 15-year-old student pilot crashed a stolen Cessna into a Bank of America skyscraper in Tampa, Florida.

And in April last year, the small plane of an apparently disgruntled businessman crashed into the Pirelli skyscraper in Milan, Italy, killing the man and two others.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now those incidents and this latest one remind us that there's not a whole lot that people can do to stop this kind of an incident.

However, the Frankfurt Airport chief -- Frankfurt Airport lost more than 100 flights. They were canceled yesterday. That's a lot of money. They would like tougher security at these small airports, like the one where that plane was stolen. It was a flight club, that's all it was.

That plane has been flown back to the flight club today. The man was arrested. He remains in custody. He's being investigated and questioned right now. Police think that he was mentally deranged.

But those questions -- The main question right now among a lot of people here is how do you prevent that from happening again? Frankfurt Airport is demanding tougher security measures at those small airports -- Leon.

HARRIS: Chris, you have no idea of knowing this, because you're halfway across the world right now, but you raised a lot of eyebrows and made a lot of folks gasp in the news room. Because it was the first that most of us had heard that you actually seen this, or you were actually there when this was happening.

You have to tell us exactly what you were thinking, what you were feeling. It had to be a sense of helplessness, when you were sitting there on the ground, watching this unfold on top of the ground.

BURNS: Absolutely, absolutely. And of course, pictures going through your head of previous incidents and of course, the tragedy in New York, 9/11.

I'd just strolled out with my family out of a museum and was looking out toward the sky and saw this plane. And I said, this isn't right. That should not be circling up there. And some cops were looking up toward that plane, too, and I said, "Well, what's up?" And they said, "Well, he's not supposed to be there."

That's when I called you guys.

HARRIS: Well, what did your kids say about it?

BURNS: Well, I was actually with Mom, my wife, and of course they were pretty surprised. And they thought, well, maybe it's just a tourist plane. But no it wasn't, especially when we saw it dive down towards the buildings. We thought, now something is really up now.

HARRIS: Oh, my goodness. That's incredible. Well, we're sure glad this one had something of a happy ending in it, and for (ph) you and the crew there, Chris.

Chris Burns, reporting live for us this morning from Frankfurt. Take care. We'll talk to you later on.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Skyscraper>


Aired January 6, 2003 - 10:20   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In Frankfurt, Germany, there were some scary moments just like that there, as well, when a man threatened to crash a stolen plane into a skyscraper there.
Military jets were scrambled to get out there, and people on the ground watched anxiously as this drama unfolded in the air.

Our Frankfurt bureau chief Chris Burns is with us now. He's got more on this story.

Hello, Chris. What's the word?

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

Well, I was one of those people watching, watching yesterday for two hours as that plane was circling over that skyline you can see right over my shoulder. And the latest, the headline from the Bildzeidung (ph) here, showing "Terror Alarm."

Well, it wasn't a terror alarm, obviously. It was a deranged man who was flying that plane. But enough to have all of us watching helplessly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over) An image that brought shivers to many: a plane, its pilot out of control, circling around the skyscrapers of Frankfurt's financial districts.

The pilot, who commandeered the plane at gunpoint, threatens to crash it into the European Central Bank, headquarters of the Euro currency.

The plane, a motorized glider, dives at one point, appearing ready to crash. A few minutes later, it flies between two of the skyscrapers.

Police evacuate the financial district, the central train station and bridges across the Rhine River. Take offs and landings at Frankfurt Airport, one of Europe's busiest, are halted.

Fighter jets are scrambled to try to persuade the pilot to land. This after police in helicopters try but fail, as well.

But as night begins to fall, authorities manage to persuade the man to land at Frankfurt Airport and give up. KLAUS BUSCH, FRANKFURT AIRPORT SPOKESMAN: There is a lot of relief when finally some kind of nightmare, and you don't know in the beginning how it will turn out, finally ends. And ends to the good.

BURNS: The pilot told police he wanted to draw attention to his idol, Judith Resnick, the America astronaut who died in the 1986 explosion on the Space Shuttle Challenger.

While the Frankfurt drama ended peacefully, other similar incidents ended tragically.

Almost a year ago, a 15-year-old student pilot crashed a stolen Cessna into a Bank of America skyscraper in Tampa, Florida.

And in April last year, the small plane of an apparently disgruntled businessman crashed into the Pirelli skyscraper in Milan, Italy, killing the man and two others.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now those incidents and this latest one remind us that there's not a whole lot that people can do to stop this kind of an incident.

However, the Frankfurt Airport chief -- Frankfurt Airport lost more than 100 flights. They were canceled yesterday. That's a lot of money. They would like tougher security at these small airports, like the one where that plane was stolen. It was a flight club, that's all it was.

That plane has been flown back to the flight club today. The man was arrested. He remains in custody. He's being investigated and questioned right now. Police think that he was mentally deranged.

But those questions -- The main question right now among a lot of people here is how do you prevent that from happening again? Frankfurt Airport is demanding tougher security measures at those small airports -- Leon.

HARRIS: Chris, you have no idea of knowing this, because you're halfway across the world right now, but you raised a lot of eyebrows and made a lot of folks gasp in the news room. Because it was the first that most of us had heard that you actually seen this, or you were actually there when this was happening.

You have to tell us exactly what you were thinking, what you were feeling. It had to be a sense of helplessness, when you were sitting there on the ground, watching this unfold on top of the ground.

BURNS: Absolutely, absolutely. And of course, pictures going through your head of previous incidents and of course, the tragedy in New York, 9/11.

I'd just strolled out with my family out of a museum and was looking out toward the sky and saw this plane. And I said, this isn't right. That should not be circling up there. And some cops were looking up toward that plane, too, and I said, "Well, what's up?" And they said, "Well, he's not supposed to be there."

That's when I called you guys.

HARRIS: Well, what did your kids say about it?

BURNS: Well, I was actually with Mom, my wife, and of course they were pretty surprised. And they thought, well, maybe it's just a tourist plane. But no it wasn't, especially when we saw it dive down towards the buildings. We thought, now something is really up now.

HARRIS: Oh, my goodness. That's incredible. Well, we're sure glad this one had something of a happy ending in it, and for (ph) you and the crew there, Chris.

Chris Burns, reporting live for us this morning from Frankfurt. Take care. We'll talk to you later on.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Skyscraper>